US10080060B2 - Systems and methods of displaying content - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for enabling content selection is configured to display one or more sub-categories of content included within a category of content. The one or more sub-categories of content may be displayed using stack structures. The stack structures may include a plurality of icons representing available content. The stack structures may enable thumbnail browsing of content available from a plurality of diverse sources. The device may enable a user to cycle through sub-category types.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/876,188, filed on Sep. 10, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/876,199, filed on Sep. 10, 2013, each of which are incorporated by reference in their respective entirety. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/242,459, filed Apr. 1, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/876,188, filed on Sep. 10, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/876,199, filed on Sep. 10, 2013.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of interactive television and graphical user interfaces.

BACKGROUND

Digital media playback capabilities may be incorporated into a wide range of devices, including digital televisions, including so-called “smart” televisions, laptop or desktop computers, tablet computers, e-book readers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital recording devices, digital media players, video gaming devices, digital cameras, cellular or satellite radio telephones, including so-called “smart” phones, dedicated video streaming devices, and the like. Digital media content may originate from a plurality of sources including, for example, over-the-air television providers, satellite television providers, cable television providers, online media-sharing services, including, online media streaming and downloading services, peer devices, and the like. Further, devices with digital media playback capabilities may be configured to output digital media to ultra-resolution displays.

Due to the wide range of content users may access on devices with digital media playback capabilities, traditional techniques for the organizing, sorting, and displaying available content choices may be less than ideal, particularly for televisions and secondary connected devices. Further, traditional electronic programming guides may be intended to be displayed on relatively smaller and/or lower resolution displays than the larger and higher resolution displays that are currently available or may be become available in the future.

SUMMARY

The following brief summary is not intended to include all features and aspects of the present invention, nor does it imply that the invention must include all features and aspects discussed in this summary. The present disclosure relates to the field of graphical user interfaces and more specifically describes techniques for presenting a user with dynamic interactive graphical user interfaces. In particular, this disclosure describes techniques for enabling content selection. In some examples, the techniques may be implemented in a device with digital media playback capabilities, including for example, laptop or desktop computers, tablet computers, smart phones, set top boxes, and televisions.

According to one example of the disclosure, a method for enabling content selection comprises displaying one or more sub-categories of content included within a category of content, wherein displaying one or more sub-categories of content includes displaying icons representing items of content included within each of the one or more sub-categories of content in a stack structure, wherein the one or more sub-categories of content are associated with a sub-category type, and enabling a user to change a sub-category type.

According to another example of the disclosure, a device for enabling content selection comprises one or more processors configured to display one or more sub-categories of content included within a category of content, wherein displaying one or more sub-categories of content includes displaying icons representing items of content included within each of the one or more sub-categories of content in a stack structure, wherein the one or more sub-categories of content are associated with a sub-category type, and enable a user to change a sub-category type.

According to another example of the disclosure, an apparatus for enabling content selection comprises means for displaying one or more sub-categories of content included within a category of content, wherein displaying one or more sub-categories of content includes displaying icons representing items of content included within each of the one or more sub-categories of content in a stack structure, wherein the one or more sub-categories of content are associated with a sub-category type, and means for enabling a user to change a sub-category type.

According to another example of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon that upon execution cause one or more processors of a device to display one or more sub-categories of content included within a category of content, wherein displaying one or more sub-categories of content includes displaying icons representing items of content included within each of the one or more sub-categories of content in a stack structure, wherein the one or more sub-categories of content are associated with a sub-category type, and enable a user to change a sub-category type.

The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating an example of a system that may implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device that may implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an input/output device that may implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 4A-4D are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for enabling selection of content according to the techniques of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described herein are systems and methods for enabling the selection of content. Some embodiments extend to a machine-readable medium embodying instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies described herein. Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows. Examples merely typify possible variations. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, components and functions are optional and may be combined or subdivided, and operations may vary in sequence or may be combined or subdivided. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of example embodiments. It will be evident to one skilled in the art, however, that the present subject matter may be practiced without these specific details.

Devices with digital media playback capabilities, including, for example, televisions, set top boxes, and mobile devices, may be configured to provide users thereof with graphical user interfaces that enable the selection of content. In some examples, these graphical user interfaces may be referred to as electronic program guides (EPGs). Traditional electronic program guides may be designed to only display content available through a television provider. Further, traditional electronic programming guides may have been designed for relatively smaller and/or lower resolution displays than the larger and higher resolution displays that are currently available or may be become available in the future. That is, traditional electronic program guides may have been designed when standard definition displays (576i resolutions) with a maximum size screen size of 32″ were common. Whereas, current commercially available displays may be larger than 100″ and may have resolutions as high as 3840 pixels by 2160 pixels. Further, even larger displays with higher resolutions are anticipated to be commercially available in the future. Displays with resolutions higher than standard or high definition displays may be referred to as ultra-resolution displays. Ultra-resolution displays, such as ultra-resolution televisions, increase the screen real-estate because more pixels can be seen by viewers allowing more content to be displayed efficiently. Further, smaller devices, such as tablet computers, may include ultra-resolution displays. Traditional electronic program guides may be less than ideal for use with ultra-resolution displays. The techniques describe herein may enable a user to more efficiently select content from a plurality of diverse sources.

Example embodiments described herein may allow for a more natural interaction with a graphical user interface by zooming back from content and surrounding it with relevant features and data. This mimics how users actually organize and interact with objects in the real world. Additionally the techniques described herein may leverage ultra-resolution displays to minimize text and content confusion by using thumbnail navigation. Thumbnail navigation may allow users to quickly and seamlessly move across content solely using icons representing content. Example embodiments described herein may replace standard data that is represented in text form with high resolution graphics to reduce clutter and allow for easier browsing of large catalogs of content. These features may then be transported on many other devices beyond a television, creating a seamless interface that enhance the user experience. That is, the graphical user interfaces described herein may be displayed on a secondary display (e.g., a smart phone display) in conjunction with being displayed on a primary display (e.g., an ultra-resolution television).

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating an example of a system that may implement one or more techniques described in this disclosure.System100 may be configured to enable content selection in accordance with the techniques described herein. In the example illustrated inFIG. 1,system100 includes one ormore computing devices102A-102N,communications network104, televisionservice provider site110, mediaservice provider site118, webpagecontent distribution site120,application distribution site122,social media site124, andsearch engine site126.System100 may include software modules operating on one or more servers. Software modules may be stored in a memory and executed a processor. Servers may include one or more processors and a plurality of internal and/or external memory devices. Examples of memory devices include file servers, FTP servers, network attached storage (NAS) devices, local disk drives, or any other type of device or storage medium capable of storing data. Storage medium may include Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, flash memory, or any other suitable digital storage media. When the techniques described herein are implemented partially in software, a device may store instructions for the software in a suitable, non-transitory computer-readable medium and execute the instructions in hardware using one or more processors.

System100 represents an example of a system that may be configured to allow digital content, such as, for example, music, videos, images, webpages, messages, voice communications, and applications, to be distributed to and accessed by a plurality of computing devices, such ascomputing devices102A-102N. In the example illustrated inFIG. 1,computing devices102A-102N may include any device configured to transmit data to and/or receive data fromcommunication network104. For example,computing devices102A-102N may be equipped for wired and/or wireless communications and may include set top boxes, digital video recorders, televisions, desktop, laptop, or tablet computers, gaming consoles, mobile devices, including, for example, “smart” phones, cellular telephones, and personal gaming devices. It should be noted that althoughexample system100 is illustrated as having distinct sites, such an illustration is for descriptive purposes and does not limitsystem100 to a particular physical architecture. Functions ofsystem100 and sites included therein may be realized using any combination of hardware, firmware and/or software implementations.

Communications network104 may comprise any combination of wireless and/or wired communication media.Communications network104 may include coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, twisted pair cables, wireless transmitters and receivers, routers, switches, repeaters, base stations, or any other equipment that may be useful to facilitate communications between various devices and sites.Communications network104 may operate according to a combination of one or more telecommunication protocols. Telecommunications protocols may include proprietary aspects and/or may include standardized telecommunication protocols. Examples of standardized telecommunications protocols include Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standards, Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards, Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting (ISDB) standards, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) standards, Global System Mobile Communications (GSM) standards, code division multiple access (CDMA) standards, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards, Internet Protocol (IP) standards, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) standards, and IEEE standards, such as, for example, one or more of the 802 standards.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, networks of different types may be defined withincommunications network104. Networks may be defined according to physical and/or logical aspects. For example, networks that share the same physical infrastructure (e.g., coaxial cables) may be distinguished based on a primary service type (e.g., webpage access or television service). Physical and logical aspects of networks may be described according to a layered model. For example, layers of a model may respectively define physical signaling, addressing, channel access control, packet properties, and data processing in a communications system. One example of a layered model is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. In the example illustrated inFIG. 1,communications network104 includestelevision provider network106 andpublic network108. It should be noted that althoughtelevision provider network106 andpublic network108 are illustrated as distinct,television provider network106 andpublic network108 may share physical and/or logical aspects.

Television provider network106 is an example of a network configured to provide a user with television services. For example,television provider network106 may include public over-the-air television networks, public or subscription-based satellite television service provider networks, and public or subscription-based cable television provider networks. It should be noted that although in some examplestelevision provider network106 may primarily be used to provide television services,television provider network106 may also provide other types of data and services according to any combination of the telecommunication protocols described herein.

Public network108 is an example of a packet-based network, such as, a local area network, a wide-area network, or a global network, such as the Internet, configured to provide a user with World Wide Web based services.Public network108 may be configured to operate according to Internet Protocol (IP) standards. It should be noted that although in some examplespublic network108 may primarily be used to provide access to hypertext web pages,public network108 may also provide other types of media content according to any combination of the telecommunication protocol described herein.

Referring again toFIG. 1,television service provider110 represents an example of a television service provider site.Television service provider110 may be configured to providecomputing devices102A-102N with television service. For example,television service provider110 may be a public broadcast station, a cable television provider, or a satellite television provider and may be configured to provide television services to analog and/or digital televisions and set top boxes. In the example illustrated inFIG. 1,television service provider110 includes onair distribution engine112 and ondemand engine114. Onair distribution engine112 may be configured to receive a plurality of on air feeds and distribute the feeds tocomputing devices102A-102N throughtelevision provider network106. For example, onair distribution engine112 may be configured to receive one or more over-the-air television broadcasts via a satellite uplink/downlink and distribute the over-the-air television broadcasts to one or more users of a subscription-based cable television service.

Ondemand engine114 may be configured to access a multimedia library and distribute multimedia content to one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N throughtelevision provider network106. For example, ondemand engine114 may access multimedia content (e.g., music, movies, and TV shows) stored inmultimedia database116A and provide a subscriber of a cable television service with movies on a Pay Per View (PPV) basis.Multimedia database116A may be a storage device configured to store multimedia content. It should be noted that multimedia content accessed through ondemand engine114 may also be located at various sites within system100 (e.g., peer-to-peer distribution).

Mediaservice provider site118 represents an example of a multimedia service provider. Mediaservice provider site118 may be configured to access a multimedia library and distribute multimedia content to one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N throughpublic network108. For example, mediaservice provider site118 may access multimedia (e.g., music, movies, and TV shows) stored inmultimedia database116B and provide a user of a media service with multimedia.Multimedia database116B may be a storage device configured to store multimedia content. In one example, mediaservice provider site118 may be configured to provide content to one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N using the Internet protocol suite. In some examples, a media service may be referred to as a streaming service. Commercial examples of media services may include Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. As described above,television provider network106 andpublic network108 may share physical and logical aspects. Thus, content accessed by one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N through mediaservice provider site118 may be transmitted through physical components oftelevision provider network106. For example, a user of a computing device may access the internet and multimedia content provided by a media service through a cable modem connected to a coaxial network maintained by a cable television provider.

Webpagecontent distribution site120 represents an example of a webpage service provider. Webpagecontent distribution site120 may be configured to provide hypertext based content to one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N throughpublic network108. It should be noted that hypertext based content may include audio and video content. Hypertext content may be defined according to programming languages, such as, for example, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML, and Extensible Markup Language (XML). Examples of webpage content distribution sites include the Wikipedia website and the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

Application distribution site122 represents an example of an application distribution service.Application distribution site122 may be configured to distribute developed software applications to one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N. In one example, software applications may include games and programs operable on computing devices. In other examples, software applications may be configured to allow a computing device to access content provided by a site in manner specific to the computing device. For example, software applications may be configured to provide enhanced or reduced functionality of a webpage to a mobile device or a set top box. Software applications may be developed using a specified programming language. Examples of programming languages include, Java™, Jini™, C, C++, Perl, UNIX Shell, Visual Basic, and Visual Basic Script. In some examples, developers may write software applications using a software development kit (SDK) provided by a device manufacturer or a service provider. In the example where one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N are mobile devices,application distribution site122 may be maintained by a mobile device manufacturer, a service provider, and/or a mobile device operating system provider. In the example where one or more ofcomputing devices102A-102N are set top boxes,application distribution site108 may be maintained by a set top box manufacturer, a service provider, and/or an operating system provider. In some examples, an application distribution site may be referred to as an app store. Examples of commercially available application distribution sites include Google Play, the Apple App Store, BlackBerry World, Windows Phone Store, and the Amazon App store.

Social media site124 represents an example of a social media service.Social media site124 may be configured to allow users ofcomputing devices102A-102N to communicate with one another.Social media site124 may be configured to host profile pages corresponding to users ofcomputing devices102A-102N. For example,social media site124 may be configured such that users ofcomputing devices102A-102N are able to display messages and upload photos, videos, and other media to a user's profile page. Examples of commercially available social media sites include Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Google Plus, Twitter, Flickr, and Instagram. In addition to allowing users to maintain profile pages,social media site124 may be configured to generate analytical data based on information included in user profile pages and/or user activity. For example,social media site124 may be configured to track the popularity of a news story based on comments provided by users ofcomputing devices102A-102N. As described in detail below, the techniques described herein may allow users ofcomputing devices102A-102N to incorporate functions of social media sites to share content and recommendations with other users. For example, users may discover content endorsed by other users.

Search engine site126 represents an example of a content search service.Search engine site126 may be a service configured to allow users ofcomputing devices102A-102N to search for content available throughcommunications network104.Search engine site126 may be configured to receive queries fromcomputing devices102A-102N and provide a list of search results tocomputing devices102A-102N. For example,search engine site126 may be configured such that users ofcomputing devices102A-102N are presented with a webpage including a search query field and are able to search content based on keywords. Examples of commercially available search engine sites include Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Further,search engine site126 may be configured to generate analytical data based on information included in search queries. For example,search engine site126 may be configured to track the popularity of an actress based on the number of times a query related to the actress is provided by users ofcomputing devices102A-102N.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device that may implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.Computing device200 is an example of a computing device that may be configured to transmit data to and receive data from a communications network, allow a user to access multimedia content, and execute one or more applications.Computing device200 may include or be part of a stationary computing device (e.g., a desktop computer, a television, a set-top box, a gaming console, a dedicated multimedia streaming device, or a digital video recorder), a portable computing device (e.g., a mobile phone, a laptop, a personal data assistant (PDA), or a tablet device) or another type of computing device. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2A,computing device200 is configured to send and receive data via a television network, such as, for example,television network106 described above and send and receive data via a public network, such as, for example,public network108. It should be noted that in other examples,computing device200 may be configured to send and receive data through one of atelevision network106 or apublic network108. The techniques described herein may be utilized by devices configured to communicate using any and all combinations of communications networks.

As illustrated inFIG. 2A,computing device200 includes central processing unit(s)202,system memory204,system interface210,modem212,transport module214,AV demux216,network interface218,storage devices220, I/O devices222,audio decoder224,audio processor226,video decoder228,graphics processing unit230, anddisplay processor232. As illustrated inFIG. 2,system memory106 includesoperating system206 andapplications208. Each of processor(s)202,system memory204,system interface210,modem212,transport module214,AV demux216,network interface218,storage devices220, I/O devices222,audio decoder224,audio processor226,video decoder228,graphics processing unit230, anddisplay processor232 may be interconnected (physically, communicatively, and/or operatively) for inter-component communications and may be implemented as any of a variety of suitable circuitry, such as one or more microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), discrete logic, software, hardware, firmware or any combinations thereof. It should be noted that althoughexample computing device200 is illustrated as having distinct functional blocks, such an illustration is for descriptive purposes and does not limitcomputing device200 to a particular hardware architecture. Functions ofcomputing device200 may be realized using any combination of hardware, firmware and/or software implementations.

CPU(s)202 may be configured to implement functionality and/or process instructions for execution incomputing device200. CPU(s)202 may be capable of retrieving and processing instructions, code, and/or data structures for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein. Instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium, such assystem memory204 orstorage devices220. CPU(s)202 may include multi-core central processing units.

System memory204 may be described as a non-transitory or tangible computer-readable storage medium. In some examples,system memory204 may provide temporary and/or long-term storage. In some examples,system memory204 or portions thereof may be described as non-volatile memory and in other examples portions ofsystem memory204 may be described as volatile memory. Examples of volatile memories include random access memories (RAM), dynamic random access memories (DRAM), and static random access memories (SRAM). Examples of non-volatile memories include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories.

System memory204, may be configured to store information that may be used by computingdevice200 during operation.System memory204 may be used to store program instructions for execution by CPU(s)202 and may be used by software or applications running oncomputing device200 to temporarily store information during program execution. For example,system memory204 may store instructions associated withoperating system206 andapplications208.Applications208 may include applications implemented within or executed by computingdevice200 and may be implemented or contained within, operable by, executed by, and/or be operatively/communicatively coupled to components ofcomputing device200.Applications208 may include instructions that may cause CPU(s)202 ofcomputing device200 to perform particular functions.Applications208 may include algorithms which are expressed in computer programming statements, such as, for-loops, while-loops, if-statements, do-loops, etc.Applications208 may be distributed tocomputing device200 through an application distribution site, such as, for example,application distribution site122 described above.

As further illustrated inFIG. 2A,applications208 may execute in conjunction withoperating system206. That is,operating system206 may be configured to facilitate the interaction ofapplications208 with CPUs(s)202, and other hardware components ofcomputing device200. It should be noted that in some examples, components ofoperating system206 and components acting in conjunction withoperating system206 may be referred to as middleware. The techniques described herein may be utilized by devices configured to operate using any and all combinations of software architectures.Operating system206 may be an operating system designed to be installed on laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, digital video recorders, televisions and/or gaming devices. In one example,operating system206 may include one or more of operating systems or middleware components developed by OpenTV, Windows operating systems, Linux operation systems, Mac operating systems, Android operating systems, and any and all combinations thereof.

System interface210, may be configured to enable communications between components ofcomputing device200. In one example,system interface210 comprises structures that enable data to be transferred from one peer device to another peer device or to a storage medium. For example,system interface210 may include a chipset supporting Accelerated Graphics Port (“AGP”) based protocols, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus based protocols, such as, for example, the PCI Express' (“PCIe”) bus specification, which is maintained by the Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group, or any other form of structure that may be used to interconnect peer devices.

Storage devices220 represent memory ofcomputing device200 that may be configured to store relatively larger amounts of information for relatively longer periods of time thansystem memory204. For example, in the example wherecomputing device200 is included as part of a digital video recorder,storage devices220 may be configured to store numerous video files. Similar tosystem memory204, storage device(s)220 may also include one or more non-transitory or tangible computer-readable storage media. Storage device(s)220 may include internal and/or external memory devices and in some examples may include volatile and non-volatile storage elements. Examples of memory devices include file servers, an FTP servers, network attached storage (NAS) devices, a local disk drive, or any other type of device or storage medium capable of storing data. Storage medium may include Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, flash memory, or any other suitable digital storage media.

I/O devices222 may be configured to receive input and provide output during operation ofcomputing device200. Input may be generated from an input device, such as, for example, a push-button remote control, a motion based remote control, a device including a touch-sensitive screen, a device including a track pad, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, a video camera, a motion sensor, or any other type of device configured to receive user input. In one example, an input device may include an advanced user input device, such as a smart phone or a tablet computing device. For example, an input device may be a secondary computing device and may be configured to receive user input via touch gestures, buttons on the secondary computing device, and/or voice control. Further, in some examples, an input device may include a display that is configured to display the graphical users interfaces described herein. For example, in the case wherecomputing device200 includes a television, an input device may include a smart phone in communication with the television. In this example, a user may provide commands to a television by activating portions of a graphical user interface displayed on a smart phone. Output may be provided to output devices, such as, for example internal speakers, an integrated display device, and/or external components, such as, a secondary computing device. In some examples, I/O device(s)222 may be operatively coupled tocomputing device200 using a standardized communication protocol, such as for example, Universal Serial Bus protocol (USB), Bluetooth, ZigBee or a proprietary communications protocol, such as, for example, a proprietary infrared communications protocol.

FIG. 2B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an input/output device that may implement one or more techniques of this disclosure. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2B, I/O device222 is illustrated as a push-button remote control. It should be noted that while I/O device222 is illustrated as a push-button remote control in the example illustrated inFIG. 2B, in other examples, the functionality of I/O device222 may be implemented using other I/O devices, such as, for example, a secondary computing device in communication with a primary computing device. Further, in other examples, functions achieved by activation of buttons of I/O device222 may be achieved through other types of user inputs. For example, in the case where an I/O device includes a touchscreen, gesture recognition, and/or voice recognition, virtual buttons may be presented on the touchscreen and functions achieved by activation of buttons on I/O device222 may be achieved through any and all combinations of virtual button activation, motion gestures, and/or voice commands. In one example, an I/O device may have voice recognition capabilities and a function achieved by activation ofsort button291 may be achieve by a user saying “sort,” “change sorting order,” “sort by genre,” or a similar phrase.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 2B, I/O device222 includes basic television controls260, playback controls270,navigational controls280, and stack structure controls290. Basic television controls260 may be configured to enable a user to perform basic tuning and volume control functions associated with viewing television programming. As illustrated inFIG. 2B, basic television controls260 includenumeric keypad261,enter button262,previous channel button263,channel change buttons264, andvolume control buttons265.Numeric keypad261,enter button262,previous channel button263, andchannel change buttons264 may be configured to enable a user to tune to a particular analog and/or digital channel. Upon a user entering a sequence of numbers usingnumeric keypad261 and, optionally, additionally activatingenter key262, a tuner may tune to a specified channel. Upon activation ofprevious channel button263, a tuner may tune to a previously tuned channel. Activation of “+” and “−”channel buttons264 may respectively cause a tuner to tune to the respective next channel in a sequence of channels. Activation of “+” and “−”volume control buttons265 may respectively cause the output of an audio system to be increased or decreased. It should be noted that although the basic television controls260 may be configured to enable a user to perform basic tuning and volume control functions associated with a television, in some examples, basic television controls260 may be used to perform other functions associated with a computing device. For example, in the case where a graphical user interface is presented to a user, activation of “+” and “−”channel buttons264 may cause respective scroll up and scroll down functions to be performed.

In one example, activation of “+” and “−”channel buttons264 may cause a selectednavigational item304, as described in detail below, to change. For example, whenmenu bar302 is active, activation of “+” channel button may cause a navigational item to the left of the selected navigational item to be selected and activation of “−” channel button may cause a navigational item to the right of the selected navigational item to be selected. In one example, activation of “+” and “−”channel buttons264 may cause a selected stack structure, as described in detail below, to change. For example, when stack structure selection is active, activation of “+” channel button may cause a stack structure to the left of the selected stack structure to be selected and activation of “−” channel button may cause a stack structure to the right of the selected stack structure to be selected.

Playback controls270 may be configured to enable a user to control the playback of and/or record multimedia content. For example, playback controls270 may enable a user to control the playback of a video originating from a media service provider site, an on demand engine, and/or a personal video recorder (PVR). As illustrated inFIG. 2B, playback controls270 includereverse playback button271,normal playback button272,forward playback button273, stopplayback button274,pause playback button275, andrecord button276.Reverse playback button271 may enable to a user to navigate to a previous point in a multimedia sequence. Upon activation,normal playback button272 may cause normal playback of an item of multimedia content to begin or resume.Forward playback button273 may enable a user to navigate to a future point in a multimedia sequence. Upon activation, stopplayback button274 may cause the playback of an item of multimedia content to cease. Upon activation,pause playback button275 may cause the playback of an item of multimedia content to be paused.Record button276 may enable a user to cause an item of multimedia content to be stored to a storage device. In one example,record button276 may enable a user to record content to a storage device. It should be noted that although playback controls270 may be configured to enable a user to control the playback of and/or record multimedia content, in some examples playback controls270 may be used to perform other functions associated with a computing device. For example, in the case where a graphical user interface is presented to a user, activation ofrecord button276 may cause a graphical user interface for scheduling recordings to be displayed.

In one example, activation ofreverse playback button271 andforward playback button273 may cause a selectednavigational item304, as described in detail below, to change. For example, whenmenu bar302 is active, activation ofreverse playback button271 may cause a navigational item to the left of the selected navigational item to be selected and activation offorward playback button273 may cause a navigational item to the right of the selected navigational item to be selected. In one example, activation ofreverse playback button271 andforward playback button273 may cause a selected stack structure, as described in detail below, to change. For example, when stack structure selection is active, activation ofreverse playback button271 may cause a stack structure to the left of the selected stack structure to be selected and activation offorward playback button273 may cause a stack structure to the right of the selected stack structure to be selected.

As described above, devices with digital media playback capabilities, including, for example, televisions, set top boxes, and mobile devices, may be configured to provide users thereof with graphical user interfaces that enable the selection of content.Navigational controls280 may be configured to enable a user to navigate graphical user interfaces and select content using a graphical user interface. In one example,navigational controls280 may be configured to enable a user to navigate graphical user interfaces and select content using one of more of the example graphical user interfaces described below with respect toFIGS. 3-10.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 2B,navigational controls280 includenavigational arrow buttons281,select button282,information button283,menu button284,guide button285,back button286, andexit button287.Navigational arrow buttons281 may be configured to move the position of a cursor associated with a graphical user interface and/or change the selection of an item included in a graphical user interface. For example,navigational arrow buttons281 may enable the user to change the selection of an icon in an electronic programming guide representing a television program (e.g., change selected item in a grid guide). As described in detail below, in one example,navigational arrow buttons281 may cause a selectednavigational item304 and/or a selected stack structure to change.

Select button282 may enable a user to further select an item of content. As described in detail below, an icon representing an item of content may be associated with multiple levels of selection. In one example, consecutive activations ofselect button282 may cause respective levels of selection to occur.Information button283 may be configured to cause additional information associated with an item of content of to be displayed. For example, when an icon representing an item of content is initially selected, activation ofinformation button283 may cause information associated with the content (e.g., cast and crew information) to be displayed.

Menu button284,guide button285,back button286, andexit button287 may be configured to enable a user to cause different graphical user interfaces to be presented. Upon activation,menu button284 may cause a graphical user interface including a high level menu to be displayed. In one example, a high level menu may include a menu that enables a user to change settings associated with the operation of a computing device. In one example, a high-level menu may include a menu that enables a user to select a user profile (e.g., a log-in graphical user interface). Upon activation,guide button285 may be configured to provide a graphical user interface that enables a user to select content. In one example, upon activation ofguide button285,graphical user interface300 described with respect toFIG. 3 below may be presented to a user.

Back button286 may be configured to enable a user to return to a previous graphical user interface. For example, whengraphical user interface800, described below with respect toFIG. 8 is displayed, activation oflast button286, may causegraphical user interface700, described below with respect toFIG. 7, to be displayed. Further in one example, as described in detail below, activation ofback button286 may causemenu bar302 to be displayed and become active.Exit button287 may be configured to enable a user to return to a full screen viewing mode. For example, when a graphical user interface is displayed, upon activation ofexit button287, the graphical user interface may “disappear” and full screen content viewing mode may be presented to a user.

As describe in detail below with respect toFIG. 4A-FIG. 7, icons representing items of content may be organized and presented to a user using stack structures. Stack structure controls290 may be configured to enable a user to navigate and/or sort stack structures. As illustrated inFIG. 2B, stack structure controls290 includesort button291 and stack structurenavigational buttons292.Sort button291 and stack structurenavigational buttons292 are described in detail below.

Referring again toFIG. 2A,computing device200 is configured to send and receive data via a television network, such as, for example,television network106 described above and send and receive data via a public network, such as, for example,public network108. As described above, a communications network may be described based on a model including layers that define communication properties, such as, for example, physical signaling, addressing, channel access control, packet properties, and data processing in a communications system. In the example illustrated inFIG. 2A,modem212,transport module214, andAV demux216 may be configured to perform lower layer processing associated withtelevision network106 andnetwork interface218 may be configured to perform lower layer processing associated withpublic network108.

In one example,modem212 may be configured to perform physical signaling, addressing, and channel access control according to the physical and MAC layers utilized in a television provider network, such as, for example,television provider network106. In one example,modem212 may configured to receive signals from a coaxial cable and/or an over the air signal and perform low level signal processing (e.g., demodulation). In one example,modem212 may be configured to extract transport streams from signals received from a coaxial cable. In one example, a transport stream may be based on a transport stream defined by the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). In one example, a transport stream may include a plurality of program streams where each program stream respectively corresponds to a program available from a television network. Further, a transport stream may include a plurality of data streams (e.g., Program Map Table and EPG data).

Transport module214 may be configured to receive data frommodem212 and process received data. For example,transport model214 may be configured to receive a transport stream including a plurality of program streams and extract individual program streams from a received transport stream. In one example, a program stream may include a video stream, an audio stream, and a data stream.AV demux216 may be configured to receive data fromtransport module214 and process received data. For example,AV demux216 may be configured to receive a program stream fromtransport module214 and extract audio packets, video packets, and data packets. That is,AV demux216 may apply demultiplexing techniques to separate video streams, audio streams, and data streams from a program stream. In one example,AV demux216 may be configured to decapsulate packetized elementary video and audio streams from a transport stream defined according to MPEG-2Part 1. It should be noted that althoughmodem212,transport module214, andAV demux216 are illustrated as having distinct functional blocks, the functions performed bymodem212,transport module214, andAV demux216 may be highly integrated and realized using any combination of hardware, firmware and/or software implementations.

Network interface218 may be configured to enablecomputing device200 to send and receive data via a public network. As described above, data sent or received via a public network may include data associated digital content, such as, for example, music, videos, images, webpages, messages, voice communications, and applications.Network interface218 may include a network interface card, such as an Ethernet card, an optical transceiver, a radio frequency transceiver, or any other type of device configured to send and receive information.Network interface218 may be configured to perform physical signaling, addressing, and channel access control according to the physical and MAC layers utilized in a public network, such as for example,public network108. Further, in a manner similar to that described above with respect totransport module214 and A/V demux216,network interface218 may be configured to extract audio packets, video packets, and data packets from a data stream. For example,network interface218 may be configured to extract video packets, audio packets, and data packets according to one or more of internet protocol (IP), transport control protocol (TCP), real time streaming protocol (RTSP), user datagram protocol (UDP), real time protocol (RTP), MPEG transport stream protocols, and IPTV protocols. It should be noted, that the techniques described herein are generally applicable to any and all methods of digital content distribution and are not limited to particular communications network implementations. For example, the techniques described herein may be applicable to digital content originating from one or more of a broadcast, a multicast, a unicast, an over-the-top content source, a personal video recorder (PVR), and a peer-to-peer content source.

Referring again toFIG. 2A, data associated with digital content, such as, for example, music, videos, images, webpages, messages, voice communications, and applications may be stored in a computer readable medium, such as, for example,system memory204 andstorage devices220. Data stored in a memory device may be retrieved and processed by CPU(s)202,audio decoder224,audio processor226,video decoder228,graphics processing unit230, anddisplay processor232. As described above, CPU(s)202 may be capable of retrieving and processing instructions, code, and/or data structures for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein. Each ofaudio decoder224,audio processor226,video decoder228,graphics processing unit230, anddisplay processor232 may also be capable of retrieving and processing instructions, code, and/or data structures for implementing one or more of the techniques described herein.

Audio decoder224 may be configured to retrieve and process coded audio data. For example,audio decoder224 may be a combination of hardware and software used to implement aspects of audio codec. Audio data may be coded using multi-channel formats such as those developed by Dolby and Digital Theater Systems. Audio data may be coded using a compressed or uncompressed format. Examples of compressed audio formats include MPEG-1, 2 Audio Layers II and III, AC-3, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis. An example of an uncompressed audio format includes pulse-code modulation (PCM) audio format.Audio processor226 may be configured to retrieve captured audio samples and may process audio data for output to an audio system (not shown). In some examples,audio processor226 may include a digital to analog converter. An audio system may comprise any of a variety of audio output devices such as headphones, a single-speaker system, a multi-speaker system, or a surround sound system.

Video decoder228 may be configured to retrieve and process coded video data. For example,video decoder228 may be a combination of hardware and software used to implement aspects of video codec. In one example,video decoder228 may be configured to decode video data encode according to any number of video compression standards, such as ITU-T H.261, ISO/IEC MPEG-1 Visual, ITU-T H.262 or ISO/IEC MPEG-2 Visual, ITU-T H.263, ISO/IEC MPEG-4 Visual, ITU-T H.264 (also known as ISO/IEC MPEG-4 AVC), VP8, and High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

As described above, a device with media playback capabilities may provide a graphical user interface (e.g., an EPG) that enables a user to select content. A graphical user interface may include images and graphics displayed in conjunction with video content (e.g., playback icons overlaid on a video).Graphics processing unit230 is an example of a dedicated processing unit that may be configured to generate graphical user interfaces, including the graphical user interfaces described herein. That is,graphics processing unit230 may be configured to receive commands and content data and output pixel data.Graphic processing unit230 may operate according to a graphics pipeline process (e.g., input assembler, vertex shader, geometry shader, rasterizer, pixel shader, and output merger).Graphics processing unit230 may include multiple processing cores and may be configured to operate according to OpenGL (Open Graphic Library, managed by the Khronos Group) and/or Direct3D (managed by Microsoft, Inc.).

Display processor232 may be configured to retrieve and process pixel data for display. For example,display processor232 may receive pixel data fromvideo decoder228 and/orgraphics processing unit230 and output data for display.Display processor232 may be coupled to a display, such display250 (not shown inFIG. 1) using a standardized communication protocol (e.g., HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, component video, composite video, and/or VGA).Display250 may comprise one of a variety of display devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or another type of display device capable of presenting video data to a user.Display250 may include a standard definition television, a high definition television or an ultra-resolution display as described above. Further,display250 may include an integrated display of a portable computing device (e.g., a mobile phone, a laptop, a personal data assistant (PDA), or a tablet device). As described above, in some examples a portable computing device may operate as an I/O device for a stationary computing device.

As described above, traditional electronic program guides (EPGs) may be less than ideal for displaying available content originating from a plurality of diverse sources and further may be less than ideal for ultra-resolution displays. Further, traditional EPGs may be limited in how content may be sorted by a user. For example, a user may be limited to sorting on air television programming by channel and time and may be limited to sorting movies and streaming content by genre and alphabetically. Further, traditional EPGs do not enable users customize how content is sorted or provide dynamic sorting techniques.Computing device200 may be configured to enable the selection of content by providing one or more of the graphical user interfaces described herein. The graphical user interfaces described herein may be provided to a computing device and/or an I/O device in communication with a computing device.FIGS. 3-10 are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of graphical user interfaces that may be generated by a computing device in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an example of a graphical user interface that may be generated by a computing device to implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface300 represents an example of a graphical user interface that may enable a user to select content. In one example,graphical user interface300 may be a graphical user interface that is initially displayed during operation of a device with media playback capabilities. For example,graphical user interface300 may be initially presented to a user when a user opens a playback application or selects a user profile. In the example wheregraphical user interface300 is presented to a user after a user selects a user profile,graphical user interface300 may be personalized to a specific user. As described above, in one example,graphical user interface300 may be presented to a user upon activation ofguide button285. Techniques for personalizing a graphical user interface to a specific user are described in further detail below.

As illustrated inFIG. 3,graphical user interface300 includesmenu bar302 and a plurality of icons.Menu bar302 includes a plurality ofnavigational items304 andnavigational items306 where one of the navigational items is selected and other navigational items are available for selection. In the example illustrated inFIG. 3, the HOME navigation item is the selectednavigational item304. As illustrated inFIG. 3, the HOME navigational item appears larger than navigational items ON AIR TV, ON DEMAND, PHOTOS, MUSIC, APPS, SOCIAL, and MY STUFF which indicates that it is the selected navigational item.

Navigational items HOME, ON AIR TV, ON DEMAND, PHOTOS, MUSIC, APPS, SOCIAL, and MY STUFF represent different sources, types, and/or categories of content. As described in detail below, different graphical user interfaces may be presented to a user based on the navigational item that is selected. In the example illustrated inFIG. 3, content associated with ON AIR TV navigational item includes television content that is currently scheduled to air (e.g., on air feeds described above with respect toFIG. 1), content associated with ON DEMAND navigational item includes on demand content that may be available through a media service provider and/or a television service provider site, content associated with PHOTOS navigational item includes content associate with a photo collection, content associated with MUSIC navigational item includes content associated with a music collection, content associated with APPS navigational item includes applications available to a user, content associated with SOCIAL navigational item includes social media applications available to a user, and content associated with MY STUFF navigational item includes content originating from diverse sources and may be personalized according to a user. Content associated with ON AIR TV navigational item is described in greater detail below with respect toFIGS. 4A-4D andFIG. 5. Content associated with MY STUFF navigational item is described in greater detail below with respect toFIG. 6. Content associated with ON DEMAND navigational item is described in greater detail below with respect toFIGS. 7-10.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 3, HOME navigational item is selected and correspondinggraphical user interface300 is presented. Each oficon308,icon310,icon312,icon314, andicon316 represent different types of content.Icon318 may identify a user whose profile is currently selected.Icon320 may identify the current time. It should be noted that in some examples,icon318 andicon320 may not be displayed or may be initially displayed and may disappear after a predetermined amount of time. Each oficon308,icon310,icon312,icon314, andicon316 may include an image representing content (e.g., a movie poster or a logo). In one example, icons may have an aspect ratio based on content type. For example, standard definition content may be represented by icons with a 4×3 aspect ratio and high definition content may be represented by icons with a 16×9 aspect ratio. Further, in one example, icons may be square or may have a 3×4 aspect ratio (e.g., movie poster icon).Icon308 represents a television show available for viewing.Icon310 represents a movie available for viewing.Icon312 represents a musical album available for listening. Television shows represented byicon308, movies represented byicon310, and musical albums represented byicon312 may respectively include television shows, movies, and albums available through a television provider and/or a media service provider. Further, television shows represented byicon308, movies represented byicon310, and musical albums represented byicon312 may respectively include television shows, movies, and albums stored locally on a computing device.

In one example, individual television shows represented byicon308, individual movies represented byicon310, and individual musical albums represented byicon312 may be presented to a user based on an algorithm that determines the likelihood a user will select a particular piece of content. For example,computing device200 may be configured to present individual pieces of content based on any and all combinations of consumption, behavior, and environment. In one example, consumption may include content a user has accessed or is accessing. In one example, behavior may include user usage information such as, for example, how fast the user changes channels, how often the user skips commercials, how frequently a user accesses content through a computing device. In one example, environment may include time (e.g., hour, day, month, or year) and location (e.g., home, car, or airport) of a computing device. For example, an algorithm may determine that a user prefers to watch crime dramas on Friday nights andgraphical user interface300 may present an icon representing a crime drama television show at a center position and/or the icon may be larger than other icons. Further, in one examplegraphical user interface300 may incorporate 3D effects such that icons appear to be positioned in the foreground or the background based on the likelihood of selection.

As described above, applications may include games and programs operable on a computing device. As further described above, applications may be configured to allow a computing device to access content provided by a site in manner specific to the computing device. Referring again toFIG. 3,icon314 andicon316 represent applications. In the example illustrated inFIG. 3,icon314 represents any type of application andicon316 represents a social media application. Icons representing applications may be distinguished into types based on how often a user accesses a particular type of application. For example, a user may access social network applications more frequently than a user accesses a banking service or a news application. Thus, social network applications may be represented by distinct icons. In one example, a social media application may allow a user of a computing device, such as a set top box to access a social media service. In a manner similar to that described above with respect to television shows, movies, musical albums, icons representing applications may be presented to a user in a manner based the likelihood a user will select a particular application.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 3, each oficons308,icon310,icon312,icon314, andicon316 may be presented in an animated state. For example, each oficons308,icon310,icon312,icon314, andicon316 may appear as though they are floating. In one example, each oficons308,icon310,icon312,icon314, andicon316 may appear as though they are floating in different planes such that one icon may move “over” and “cover” another icon. Further, motion associated with icons may be based on a likelihood that a user will select a particular icon. For example, icons may move from an initial position to a center position or from a background to a foreground position based on user behavior and/or an algorithm that predicts a particular item of content is more likely to be selected by a user. Movement may be based on one or more of consumption, behavior, and environment described above.

In one example,graphical user interface300 may display content recommendations by displaying information window or a preview window (not shown inFIG. 3) at a center position. Examples of information windows and preview windows are described in detail below with respect toFIG. 9 andFIG. 10. In one example, a preview window may to continue to cycle through usage based recommendations without requiring user input until a piece of content is selected. That is, for each recommendation, a window displaying a preview video of a short duration associated with the content may be displayed before displaying the next suggestion. In one example, activation of one or more ofenter button262,play button272, andselect button282, while a preview window is displayed may cause content associated with a preview to be selected. In one example, upon selection of content, content may be displayed in a full screen viewing mode.

Further, in one example, a computing device may be configured to enable a user to select one of the plurality of icons using an I/O device. As described above, an I/O device may include a push-button remote control, a motion based remote control, a device including a touch-sensitive screen, a device including a track pad, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, video camera, a motion sensor, and/or an advanced user input device, such as a smart phone or a tablet computing device. For example, a user ofcomputing device200 may be able to select an icon using I/O device222.Graphical user interface300 may be configured such that each icon is capable of multiple levels of selection. For example, a user may be able to use an I/O device to move a cursor, where a cursor may be a visible or invisible cursor, to the location of an icon and remaining on the icon for a predetermined amount of time may be associated with one level of selection and activation of one or more controls on an I/O device (e.g., a single tap or a double tap on a touch-sensitive display) may be associated with other levels of selection (e.g., display information or provide a preview).

In one example,graphical user interface300 may be configured to enable four levels of selection for each icon: a level that enlarges or highlights an icon, a level that provides information associated with content (e.g., cast and crew information), a level that provides a preview of content associated with an icon (e.g., a trailer), and a level that provides full access to content associated with an icon (e.g., play movie or television show or launch an application). These levels of selection are described in further detail below with respect toFIGS. 8-10. In this manner,graphical user interface300 enables a user to select content available from a plurality of diverse sources.

In addition to enabling the user to select icons,graphical user interface300 may enable a user to select one ofnavigational items306. In one example, a user may be able to select one of ON AIR TV, ON DEMAND, PHOTOS, MUSIC, APPS, SOCIAL, and MY STUFF by moving a cursor to a corresponding location and/or by activating another navigational button on an I/O device. As described above, activation of one or more of “+” and “−”channel buttons264,reverse playback button271 andforward playback button273, andnavigational arrow buttons281 may cause a selectednavigational item304 to change. In one example, a user may initially select one ofnavigational items306 usingnavigational arrow buttons281 and may further select an initially selectednavigational item306 by activatingselect button282. In one example, upon activation of theselect button282, a graphical user interface other thangraphical user interface300 may be presented (e.g.,graphical user interface400 if ON AIR TV is selected) andmenu bar302 may become inactive. In one example, whenmenu bar302 becomes inactive a user may not be able to change a selected navigational item usingnavigational arrow buttons281, asnavigational arrows buttons281 may be used to navigate a respective graphical user interface. A user may need toreactive menu bar302 beforenavigational arrow buttons281 may be used to select anavigation item306. In one example,menu bar302 may be reactivated upon a user activatingback button286.

As described above with respect toFIG. 2B, I/O device222 may include stacknavigational buttons292. In one example, a single activation of one ofstack navigation buttons292 may cause anavigational item306 to become a selectednavigation item304. For example, in the case where ON AIR TV is the selectednavigation item304, activation of left stack navigational button may cause HOME to become selected and activation of right stack navigational button may cause ON DEMAND to become selected. In one example, activation of stacknavigational buttons292 may cause a navigational item to change regardless of the graphical user interface and/or content currently being presented to a user. In this manner,stack navigation buttons292 may enable a user to change a selected navigation item without going/reversing through a sequence of graphical user interfaces.

FIG. 4A-4D are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of graphical user interfaces in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface400 is an example of a graphical user interface that may be provided by a computing device to implement one or more techniques of this disclosure. In one example,graphical user interface400 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed when the selectednavigational item304 is ON AIR TV. As described above, content associated with ON AIR TV navigational item includes television content that is currently scheduled to air. It should be noted that althoughmenu bar302 is included as being displayed inFIG. 4A, in someexamples menu bar302 may be hidden and inactive and may appear and become active based on a user action (e.g., a user moving a cursor towards the bottom of a display, and/or activating back button286).

As illustrated inFIG. 4A-4D, when ON AIR TV is the selectednavigational item304, a plurality of icons representing television shows are displayed. Each of the plurality of icons representing television shows may be similar toicon308 described above and in one example may include an image representing a television show. As illustrated inFIGS. 4A-4D, the plurality of icons included ingraphical user interface400 are organized intostack structure402 andstack structure404. Each ofstack structure402 andstack structure404 may represent sub-categories of content associated with navigational item ON AIR TV. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4A, stack structures are organized based on time sub-categories wherestack structure402 includes icons representing on-air television shows that are currently available for viewing (e.g., currently airing or being broadcast by a television network) andstack structure404 includes icons representing on-air television programs that become available for viewing at 9:00 PM.

It should be noted that although only television shows are displayed in the examples ofFIG. 4A-4D, icons may also represent sporting events, movies, and other programming available from a particular television network. The position of icons within a stack structure may be based on an algorithm that determines the likelihood a user will select a particular icon. For example, in a manner similar to the example described above with respect toFIG. 3, if it is Friday night, a crime drama television show may be positioned within a stack structure in a position that facilitates selection by a user (e.g., at a center position).

A computing device may be configured to enable a user to select one of the icons using an I/O device. For example, a user ofcomputing device200 may be able to select an icon using I/O device222. Similar to levels of selection available for icons described above with respect tographical user interface300,graphic user interface400 may enable multiple levels of selection for each icon. In the examples illustrated inFIG. 4A-4D, different types of selections may be made available to a user based on whether a particular television show is currently airing. For example, if a particular television show is currently available for viewing, a selection of a corresponding icon by a user may display the television show in progress. If a particular television show is airing at a later time, a selection of a corresponding icon may allow a user to see a preview, set a reminder, and/or schedule the television show for recording.

In addition to enabling a user to select individual icons withinstack structure402 andstack structure404,graphical user interface400 may enable a user to select a stack structure. In the example illustrated inFIGS. 4A-4D,stack structure402 is selected and stackstructure404 represents a stack structure that is available for selecting. In one example, a user may perform a pan right command/gesture using an I/O device and/or press a right arrow button on an I/O device (e.g., right arrow ofnavigational arrows281, rightstack navigation button292, and/or play forward button273) to change the selected stack structure fromstack structure402 to stackstructure404. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4A-4D, selectedstack structure402 is highlighted and made available for additional levels of selection. Examples of additional available levels of selection available for a stack structure are described below with respect toFIGS. 7-10.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface500 is an example of a graphical user interface that may be provided by a computing device to implement one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface500 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed whenstack structure404 illustrated inFIG. 4A is selected. As illustrated inFIG. 5,stack structure404 is highlighted indicating that it is selected.

As illustrated inFIG. 5,graphical user interface500 includesstack structure502 in addition to stackstructure402 andstack structure404, wherestack structure502 includes icons representing on-air television programs that are available at 9:30 PM.Stack structure404 is located ingraphical user interface500 at a center position and stackstructure502 is located ingraphical user interface500 at a rightmost position. Thus,stack structure402 andstack structure404 effectively move to the left based on a scroll right command from a user.Graphical user interface500 may be configured such that stack structures respectively move to the right and the left based on scroll left and scroll right commands. For example,stack structure404 andstack structure502 may move to the left and a new stack structure including icons representing on-air television programs that become available for viewing at 10:00 PM may appear at the rightmost position upon the user initiating a scroll right command. As described above with respect toFIG. 2B, a user may execute scroll left and scroll right commands using one or more ofchannel buttons264,reverse playback button271 andforward playback button273,navigational arrow buttons281, and stacknavigational arrows292. In this manner, by subsequently displayinggraphical user interface500 after receiving a pan right command/gesture and/or an activation of a right arrow button on an I/O device when agraphical user interface400 is displayed, a computing device enables a user to scroll through sub-categories of a content type.

In the examples illustrated inFIG. 4A andFIG. 5, the sequential presentation ofgraphical user interface400 andgraphical user interface500 enables a user to browse television programs according to a chronological order. It should be noted that although graphical user interface includes three stack structures where each may include 28 icons, stack structures may be dynamically displayed based on the amount of content for each category as well as the screen real estate availability. For example, more stack structures may be displayed on larger displays. In this manner,graphical user interface400 andgraphical user interface500 may be displayed by a computing device to enable a user to select content available from a plurality of diverse sources. In other examples, a computing device may present graphical user interfaces that enable a user to browse content according to other sub-categories. For example, sub-categories for content associated with ON AIR TV navigational item may include networks, genres, titles, actors, directors, and/or popularity rankings (e.g., 1-50 in a stack structure and 51-100 in a stack structure).

The example graphical user interfaces illustrated inFIG. 4B-4D illustrate graphical user interfaces that enable a user to browse content associated with ON AIR navigation item according to sub-categories other than availability time. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4B stack structures are organized based on network sub-categories and each of the icons within a stack structure are associated with a television network (e.g., ABC, NBC, etc.). In the example illustrated inFIG. 4C stack structures are organized alphabetically based on title sub-categories. In the example illustrated inFIG. 4D, stack structures are organized based on popularity sub-categories. Popularity may be one of most watched now, most popular amongst friends, and most trending show (e.g., greatest change in popularity).

As described above with respect toFIG. 2B, I/O device222 may includesort button291. In one example, an activation ofsort button291 may change howstack structure402 andstack structure404 are organized into sub-categories. For example, activation ofsort button291 may change a sub-categories type (e.g., change from availability time to network). Further, in one example, consecutive activations ofsort button291 may cause a computing device to progress through a sub-category type sort cycle and display respective graphical user interfaces. For example, a user may cycle through organizing stack structures by time, network, alphabetical, and popularity by successive activations ofsort button291 and graphical user interfacesFIGS. 4A-4D may respectively be displayed. That is,sort button291 enables a user to change a sub-category type. In one example, when a user provides an input indicating a desire to change a sub-category type, a visual transition may occur where stack structures associated with one subcategory type “leave” a display (e.g., disappear into a background) and stack structures associated with another sub-category type “appear” on a display.

It should be noted that although the examples, illustrated inFIGS. 4A-4D illustrate a time, network, alphabetical by title, and popularity sort cycle for content associated with ON AIR navigational item, a computing device may be configured to perform other sort cycles. In one example, a sort cycle may be based on one or more of consumption, behavior, and environment described above. For example, a sort cycle may be different for a viewing session occurring on a Friday night compared to a viewing session occurring on a Saturday morning.

In another example, a sort cycle may change based on the frequency of selected a sub-category type. For example, the sub-category type most commonly used by a user for browsing content may be displayed first in a sorting cycle and less frequently used sub-category types may be displayed later in a sorting cycle. In one example, a computing device may analyze metadata associated with content and provide a ranked list of sorting cycles available to the users. For example, with respect to the example sort cycle described with respect toFIGS. 4A-4D, a sort cycle of time, network, alphabetical, and popularity for content associated with ON AIR TV navigational item content may change to a sort cycle network, popularity, time, and alphabetical based on how a user actual sorts content. Further, in one example a computing device may be configured to enable a user to set a sort cycle. For example, a user may wish to only sort based on network and time. In this example, a computing device may present a graphical user interface to a user that the enables a user to set a sort cycle.

In addition to sub-categories types described above with respect to ON AIR TV navigational item, other sub-categories types may be associated with other navigation items. Sub-categories types for content associated with ON DEMAND navigational item may include service providers, genres, titles, actors, directors, and/or popularity rankings. Sub-categories types for content associated with ON DEMAND navigational item are described in greater detail below with respect toFIG. 7. Sub-categories types for content associated with PHOTOS navigational item may include date taken, location, and/or identified individuals. Sub-categories types for content associated with MUSIC navigational item may include artists, genres, release years, and/or popularity rankings. Sub-categories types for content associated with APPS navigational item may include application types (e.g., video, music, photo, social) and popularity rankings. Sub-categories types for content associated with SOCIAL navigational item may include social network types and/or connections. Sub-categories types for content associated with MY STUFF navigational item may be customized by a user and are described in greater detail below with respect toFIG. 6. Further, a user may choose to organize stack structures based on sub-categories types, including but not limited to, content source, alphabetical, recommendations, genres, channels, media device, friend content, and favorites.

In a manner similar to that described above with respect to ON AIR TV navigational item, a computing device may enable a user to change a sub-category type, and thus, how content within a category is organized for content respectively associated with each of ON DEMAND navigational item, PHOTOS navigational item, MUSIC navigational item, APPS navigational item, SOCIAL navigation item, and MY STUFF navigational item. Further,computing device200 may be configured to enable a user to progress through respective sort cycles for each of the navigational items.

In one example,computing device200 may be configured to use one or more of the following sort cycles for content associated with the respective navigation items: ON AIR TV: availability time, network, alphabetical by title, most watched now, most popular amongst friends, and/or most trending shows. ON DEMAND: genre and/or sub-genre, alphabetical by title, chronological by release date, and/or popularity. PHOTOS: alphabetically by file name, chronological by date taken, alphabetical by photo album name, geographic location, subject in photo or faces, and/or source of photo. MUSIC: alphabetical by song title, alphabetical by album name, alphabetical by group or artist name, chronologically be release date, genre, popularity, and/or source of music. APPS: Genre, prices, release date, and/or popularity. In a manner similar to that described above, with respect to content associated with ON AIR TV each of these sort cycle may be modified based on one or more of consumption, behavior, environment, and/or may be set by a user. It should be noted that these sort cycle merely typify example sort cycles and each example sort cycle could be personalized further by determining preferred sorting techniques of a user. In this manner, each individual user could have their own sorting preference.

It should be noted that for the sake of brevity graphical user interfaces corresponding to PHOTOS, MUSIC, APPS, and SOCIAL being the selected navigational item are not individual represented in the drawings. However, when one of PHOTOS, MUSIC, APPS, and SOCIAL is a selected navigational item associated content may be organized into stack structures based on any of the sub-categories described above and a user may be able to select stack structures and icons in a manner similar to that described with respect toFIGS. 4A-4D and 5. In one example, a user may be able to choose a sub-category type. For example, a user may be able to choose to browse music content based on genre and corresponding stack structures may be displayed. In other example, sub-categories may be selected based on any and all combinations of consumption, behavior, and environment.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface600 is an example of a graphical user interface that may be provided by a computing device to implement one or more techniques of this disclosure. In one example,graphical user interface600 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed when a selectednavigational item304 is MY STUFF. It should be noted that althoughmenu bar302 is included as being displayed inFIG. 6, in someexamples menu bar302 may be hidden.

As described above, content associated with MY STUFF navigational item includes content personalized to a user. In the example illustrated inFIG. 6,graphical user interface600 includesstack structure602,stack structure604, and stackstructure606.Stack structure602 includes icons representing friends of a user, where friends of a user may include individuals connected to a user through one or more social networks.Stack structure604 includes icons representing photos included in a photo collection of a user. A photo collection may include digital images that are stored locally on a computing device and/or photos that are available through a media sharing site.Stack structure606 includes icons representing music albums included in a music collection of a user. A music collection may include music that is stored locally on a computing device and/or music that is available through a media sharing site.

Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 6, each ofstack structure602,stack structure604, and stackstructure606 represent different types of content. That is,stack structure602 corresponds to social content,stack structure604 corresponds to photo content, and stackstructure606 corresponds to music content. In one example, a user may configuregraphical user interface600 to select which types of content are included in the stack structures associated with the MY STUFF navigational item. Further, in one example a user may organize icons in a stack structure in a desired manner. For example, a user may place favorite albums at the top of a stack structure. Thus, a computing device configured to displaygraphical user interface600 enables a user to select content from diverse sources in a dynamic manner.

As described above, a user of a computing device may be able to select a stack using an I/O device, such as I/O device222. Examples of additional available levels of selection available for a stack are described below with respect toFIGS. 7-10.FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure. In one example,graphical user interface700 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed when the selectednavigational item304 is ON DEMAND navigational item. As described above, content associated with ON DEMAND navigational item represents on demand content that may be available through a media service provider and/or a television service provider site. It should be noted that althoughmenu bar302 is included as being displayed inFIG. 7, in someexamples menu bar302 may be hidden.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 7, when ON DEMAND is the selectednavigational item304, a plurality of icons representing movies are displayed. It should be noted that in other examples other type of on demand content may be displayed (e.g., television shows, sporting events, etc.). Each of the plurality of icons representing movies may be similar toicon310 described above and in one example may include an image representing a movie. Ingraphical user interface700 the plurality of icons are organized intostack structure702,stack structure704, and stackstructure706. Each ofstack structure702,stack structure704, and stackstructure706 may represent sub-categories of content associated with navigational item ON DEMAND. In the example illustrated inFIG. 7,stack structure702 includes icons representing movies with a title beginning with any of the letters A to D,stack structure704 includes icon representing movies with a title beginning with any of the letters E to F, and stackstructure706 includes icons representing movies with a title beginning with any of the letters G to L. In this manner, a user may be able to browse on demand movies alphabetically.

The position of icons within a stack may be based on an algorithm that determines the likelihood a user will select a particular icon. For example, recommended movies may be positioned within a stack in a position that facilitates selection by a user (e.g., at a center position). In a manner similar to that described above with respect toFIG. 4 andFIG. 5, a user may use an I/O device to scroll through sub-categories of a content type and corresponding graphical user interfaces may be displayed. For example, a user may perform a pan command/gesture using an I/O device and/or press an arrow button on an I/O device to change the selected stack and titles ranges that are displayed.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 7,stack structure702 is selected and as such may be made available for additional levels of selection. In one example, a user may activate one or more controls on an I/O device (e.g., a single tap or a double tap on a touch-sensitive display, and/or activation of select button282) to indicate a further level of selection forstack structure704.FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a graphical user interface in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface800 is an example of a graphical user interface that may be displayed when a user indicates a further level of selection forstack structure704. As illustrated inFIG. 8,graphical user interface800 includes selectedicon802, icons available forselection804,stack menu bar806, selectedstack structure icon808, and stack structures available forselection810. It should be noted that in some examples,stack menu bar806 may be hidden.

In the example illustrated inFIG. 8, each of selectedicon802 and icons available forselection804 represent individual items of content available for selection withinstack structure704. In this case, movies having a title beginning with the letters E to F. In some examples, the transition fromgraphical user interface700 tographical user interface800 may occur in an animated fashion. For example, the icons included instack structure704 may “tumble” to formgraphical user interface800. For example,stack structure704 may appear to fall in a clockwise direction and the icon in the lower left corner ofstack structure704 may appear ingraphical user interface800 as selectedicon802. Further, icons included ingraphical user interface800 may be organized in order to further facilitate selection by a user. For example, icons may be organized withinstack structure704 alphabetically and icons may be organized ingraphical user interface800 based on user ratings. As described above content may be organized within a stack structure based on one or more of alphabetical listing, recommendations, favorites, user rating, icons organized ingraphical user interface800 may be reorganized based on or more of alphabetical listing, recommendations, favorites, user rating. Further, it should be noted that icons ingraphical user interface800 may be a different size than icons appearing ingraphical user interface700. For example, icons included ingraphical user interface800 may be larger than icons included ingraphical user interface700. In one example,computing device200 may be configured to dynamically adjust the size of icons based on properties of adisplay250.

Referring again toFIG. 8, examplegraphical user interface800 presents the items of content included instack structure704 in a manner the further facilitates selections by a user. When presentedgraphical user interface800, a user may use an I/O device to change the selected icon and may further select a selected icon. In one example, a user may change the selected icon by moving a cursor (invisible or visible) to a desired icon. In one example, a user may activate one or more controls on an I/O device (e.g., a single tap or a double tap on a touch-sensitive display, and/or activation of select button282) to indicate a further level of selection. In this manner,graphical user interface800 may be displayed by a computing device to enable a user to select content.

FIG. 9 andFIG. 10 are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of a graphical user interfaces in accordance with one or more techniques of this disclosure.Graphical user interface900 andgraphical user interface1000 are examples of graphical user interfaces that may be provided by a computing device to implement one or more techniques of this disclosure. In one example,graphical user interface900 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed whenicon802 selected at an additional level andgraphical user interface900 may be a graphical user interface that is displayed whenicon802 selected at a further additional level. As illustrated inFIG. 9,graphical user interface900 includesinformation window902 in addition to selectedicon802, icons available forselection804,stack menu bar806, selectedstack icon808, stacks available forselection810. As illustrated inFIG. 10,graphical user interface1000 includespreview window1002 in addition to selectedicon802, icons available forselection804,stack menu bar806, selectedstack icon808, stacks available forselection810.

As illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 10,information window902 andpreview window1002 includetitle identifier904 andsource906.Title identifier904 may identify the title of an item of content (e.g., the title of a movie).Source identifier906 may identify a source of the content. For example,source identifier906 may identify a media service provider or a television network. Further, in the example where on demand content is Pay Per View content available from a television service provider,source identifier906 may include a price to view the content.Information window902 andpreview window1002 may be distinct in thatinformation window902 simply provides a high resolution image of an item of content andpreview window1002 provides a video preview of an item of content. Further, distinct additional levels of selection may be associated withinformation window902 andpreview window1002. For example, cast and crew information may be accessible by a user wheninformation window902 is displayed and the option to view content in a full screen mode may be available whenpreview window1002 is displayed. In other examples, an additional selection of selectedicon802 may provide apreview window1002 without providing an information window. In this manner, each ofgraphical user interface900 andgraphical user interface1000 may be displayed by a computing device to enable a user to select content.

It should be noted that a computing device may display any and all combinations of the graphical user interfaces illustrated inFIGS. 3-10 and the example descriptions of how graphical user interfaces may be presented to a user are for illustrative purposes.FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for enabling selection of content input according to the techniques of this disclosure.

Flowchart1100 illustrates an example of how graphical user interfaces described herein may be presented to a user. It should be noted that althoughflowchart1100 is described with respect tocomputing device200, the techniques described with respect toflowchart1100 may be performed by any and all combinations of components ofcomputing device200.Computing device200 provides an initial graphical user interface to a user (1102). In one example, an initial graphical user interface may includegraphical user interface300 and may be presented to a user after a user logs-in to a profile and/or upon a useractivation guide button285.Computing device200 receives a category selection (1104). In one example,computing device200 may receive a category selection from an I/O device and a user may indicate a category selection by selection of a navigational item included in a menu bar. In one example, a user may select a navigational item using stack structurenavigational buttons292.Computing device200 displays content within a category according to sub-category stack structures (1106). For example,computing device200 may respectively display one ofgraphical user interface400,graphical user interface500,graphical user interface600, andgraphical user interface700. As described above, a user may be able to organize content associated withgraphical user interface400,graphical user interface500,graphical user interface600, andgraphical user interface700 by changing a sub-category type. In one example,computing device200 may enable a user to progress through a sort cycle by successively activatingsort button291.

Computing device200 receives a stack structure selection (1108). In one example,computing device200 may receive a stack structure selection from I/O device222 and a user may indicate a stack structure selection by highlighting a stack structure with a cursor and activating an I/O device control. In the example illustrated inflowchart1100,computing device200 displays content within a sub-category according to a mosaic. In one example,computing device200 may displaygraphical user interface800.Computing device200 receives a user content selection (1112). In one example,computing device200 may receive a user content selection according to the techniques described above with respect toFIGS. 8-10.Computing device200 displays content according to a user selection (1114). In one example,computing device200 may display an information window, a preview window, or play multimedia in a full screen mode or launch an application. In this manner,computing device200 represents an example of a device configured enable selection of content.

The disclosed and other embodiments, modules and the functional operations described in this document can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this document and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. The disclosed and other embodiments can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more them. The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, which is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a mark-up language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this document can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need not have such devices. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

While this patent document contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of an invention that is claimed or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in this document in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results.

Only a few examples and implementations are disclosed. Variations, modifications, and enhancements to the described examples and implementations and other implementations can be made based on what is disclosed.

Claims (20)

What is claimed is:

1. A method of enabling content selection, the method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface to a computing device, wherein the graphical user interface enables a user to select content;

wherein the graphical user interface causes a plurality of stack structures to be simultaneously displayed on a display in communication with the computing device, wherein each stack structure includes icons, wherein each of the icons have one of a plurality of images, wherein the icons represent individual items of content corresponding to a sub-category of content, and wherein the sub-category of content is defined as a first sub-category type of content; and

enabling a user to change the first sub-category type of content to a second sub-category type of content using an input device in communication with the computing device, wherein a change of the first sub-category type of content to the second sub-category type of content changes how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories of content and causes the plurality of stack structures to be displayed based on how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories of content.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein enabling the user to change the first sub-category type of content to the second sub-category type of content includes enabling the user to progress through a sub-category type cycle.

3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein enabling the user to progress through the sub-category type cycle includes enabling the user to progress through the sub-category type cycle by successive executions of a particular user input, and wherein the particular user input includes activation of a dedicated sort button.

4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein a category of content includes on-air television content, and wherein the sub-category type cycle includes at least two of an availability time, a network, a title, and a popularity.

5. The method ofclaim 2, wherein a category of content includes on demand content, and wherein the sub-category type cycle includes at least two of a genre, a title, a release date, and a popularity.

6. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the sub-category type cycle is based on one or more of:

a consumption, a behavior, and an environment.

7. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: enabling the user to set the sub-category type cycle.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein categories of content include one or more of on-air television content, on demand content, user multimedia content, and user applications.

9. A device for enabling content selection, the device comprising: one or more processors configured to perform operations to:

simultaneously display a plurality of stack structures, wherein each stack structure includes icons, wherein each of the icons have one of a plurality of images, wherein the icons represent individual items of content corresponding to a sub-category of content, and wherein the sub-category of content is defined as a first sub-category type of content; and

enable a user to change the first sub-category type of content to a second sub-category type of content, wherein a change of the first sub-category type of content to the second sub-category type of content changes how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories of content and causes the plurality of stack structures to be displayed based on how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories of content.

10. The device ofclaim 9, wherein enabling the user to change the first sub-category type of content to the second sub-category of content includes enabling the user to progress through a sub-category type cycle.

11. The device ofclaim 10, wherein enabling the user to progress through the sub-category type cycle includes enabling the user to progress through the sub-category type cycle by successive executions of a particular user input, wherein the particular user input includes activation of a dedicated sort button.

12. The device ofclaim 10, wherein a category of content includes on-air television content, and wherein the sub-category type cycle includes at least two of an availability time, a network, a title, and a popularity.

13. The device ofclaim 10, wherein a category of content includes on demand content, and wherein the sub-category type cycle includes at least two of a genre, a title, a release date, and a popularity.

14. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the sub-category type cycle is based on one or more of: a consumption, a behavior, and an environment.

15. The device ofclaim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to enable the user to set the sub-category type cycle.

16. The device ofclaim 9, wherein categories of content include one or more of on-air television content, on demand content, user multimedia content, and user applications.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that upon execution cause one or more processors of a device to perform operations to:

simultaneously display a plurality of stack structures, wherein each stack structure includes icons, wherein each of the icons have one of a plurality of images, wherein icons represent individual items of content corresponding to a sub-category of content, and wherein the sub-category of content is defined as a first sub-category type of content; and

enable a user to change a the first sub-category type to a second sub-category of content, wherein a change of the first sub-category type of content to the second sub-category of content changes how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories of content and causes the plurality of stack structures to be displayed based on how the plurality of stack structures are organized into sub-categories.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein instructions that cause the one or more processors of the device to enable the user to change the first sub-category type to the second sub-category of content include instructions that enable the user to progress through a sub-category type cycle by successive executions of a particular user input, wherein the particular user input includes activation of a dedicated sort button.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 18, wherein a category of content includes on-air television content, and wherein the sub-category type cycle includes at least two of an availability time, a network, a title, and a popularity.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 18, further comprising instructions stored thereon that upon execution cause the one or more processors of a device to enable the user to set the sub-category type cycle.

Images